NEWS

The concept of the MasterMind was formally introduced by Napoleon Hill (you may know him as the guy who wrote the timeless business classic “Think and Grow Rich”) in the early 1900’s. Hill defined the MasterMind principle as:

“The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

In other words, a MasterMind group is a type of peer advisory board, where members of the group come together to tap into the experience and skills of each other, to provide instant and valuable support, to problem solve and encourage each other who have like-minded goals.

In a MasterMind, each person’s participation is key. Your peers give you feedback; you brainstorm possibilities, you share best practices and even set up accountability structures that keep you focused and on track with your goals. MasterMinds create a community of supportive colleagues who will innovate together to move the persons in the group to new heights. It’s like having a totally objective board of directors and partners in a shared endeavor.

As our team at Faithtree Resources has hosted dozens of coaching calls, collaborative online workshops, teachings and group studies over the last two years, we have learned that formalizing those efforts and raising the bar to the next level will be a catalyst to better serve you, our audience, and in turn, Orthodox Christian parishes throughout the world.

Here’s how it will work:

Over the next 12 months, Faithtree Resources will begin to coordinate and facilitate monthly online, product-based MasterMind groups for each of the resources we have offered to our people. Our job will be to create trust and rapport amongst participants in the group, to assist in bringing out the success of every member of the group, to help members offer their experiences to each other in a way that is useful, in accordance with our Tradition and in a way that keeps members accountable to their ministry’s strategic priorities in regards to that specific product. So for example, if you purchased The Lionheart Sessions, your group will consist of other ministry leaders who have purchased The Lionheart Sessions and are working towards building their parish’s men’s ministry. If you bought “Removing Barriers”, you’ll be partnered with other leaders working on Disability Ministry in their parish.

Through coordinated, focused, and facilitated monthly conversations, you will have the opportunity to grow yourself, your ministry, your team, and the impact of your work alongside other like-minded ministry leaders who seek to serve Christ and His Church inside the parish.

Special, Limited-Time Offer:

In light of that, this Spring, Faithtree will be piloting our MasterMind groups, starting with a group of 12 clergy/Youth Workers who serve in a full-time ministry capacity. We’d love for you to apply to be one of those 12.

If your application is selected as one of the 12, you will receive a FREE copy of The Relationship Project: Engaging Our Teens in the Life of the Church, both episode One (Identity) and Episode Two (Intimacy) for your parish. This is a $300 dollar product value, as well as four free months of online coaching and collaboration for you, your youth and your parish- all for free.

If you are selected to be part of this inaugural group, you will be committing to join the Faithtree team and other members of your MasterMind group once a month, online, for four months. During that time, we will be guiding the group through the implementation of the product at your parish, as well as collaborating around the hurdles we all experience in youth ministry as we strive to serve our young people.

There is great potential in partnering with others in ministry in this way. It virtually eliminates the loneliness we have all experienced when the solitary silos of ministry hinder us from reaching God’s best plan for us.

Here’s who should apply:

Any clergyman or lay leader who works in full-time ministry and is responsible for ministering to the young people in your parish.

To apply:

Simply send an email by February 15, 2018 to info@faithtree.organd answer the following 7 questions:

What is the name, address and contact information of your parish?

What jurisdiction is your parish a member of?

Are you in full time ministry, responsible for coordinating the youth ministry in your parish?

Are you able and willing to commit to join the Faithtree team once a month (Monday mornings, from 9-10:30 am PST) for four months? Note: Start date to be determined.

What strategic priorities have you and your priest determined for your youth for the 2018 year?

How many team members are on your youth ministry team, including volunteers?

Why should you be chosen to participate in this MasterMind group?

After applications are received and reviewed, we will be reaching out to 12 of you to advise you on next steps, and to formally introduce what our four months together will look like.

The potential in this type of collaboration is limitless!

We are so excited for the opportunity to partner with you, our church leaders in this way.

We pray God will be glorified in our efforts to support and co-labor with other like-minded youth workers across the Orthodox world.

An article recently crossed my desk about the 75-Year Harvard Study on Adult Development that has some powerful findings. This study started in 1938 to track the health of 738 men and has continued and expanded since then. Their goal was to study human health over the lifespan to understand what leads to a healthy and happy life.

Whether you’re a priest, a youth pastor, a parent, a coach, a mentor, a Sunday School teacher, or a volunteer chaperone, I know your passion is making a positive difference in the lives of our kids by helping make the Church their safest and happiest place to be.

Do you know one of those couples that seem to get closer every time they have a disagreement? You know, those folks who somehow make having difficult conversations seem desirable; because such conversations actually bring them into a better place once they’re over?

What is it about those couples that allow them to use conflict for their gain, and not their destruction?

The Faithtree Resources team has identified many reasons these couples navigate conflict so well. We think they’ll work for you too.

Faithtree is a ministry of St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church in Van Nuys, California, a parish of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. It’s purpose is to provide educational programs from a Traditional Orthodox Christian context in the language of our day, and to equip families in North America to live what they believe.